Illinois Crop Update | July 24, 2026
Steve Brand – Commercial Ag Specialist
DeKalb County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Dry (soil is drier than normal, plant growth may have slowed)
After a busy July, I am back with another crop report. We are coming out of a very significant heat wave. Northern Illinois is entering a mild drought with little to no rain in the foreseeable future, and the Canadian wildfires smoked most of us in Northern Illinois out for the tail end of the week and well into the weekend. I am very thankful all of that has passed, and look forward to some milder temperatures and lower humidity days in the coming weeks.
Corn continues to progress through growth stages as we exit the past week’s heatwave. Most fields I saw were in the R2 blister stage, some fields are R3 milk, and I did not see any R4 dough stage fields but early plantings could certainly be approaching this. Disease continues to be very low in fields. Small amounts of gray leaf spot was found, and I did confirm the first case of tar spot in a field in DeKalb, Illinois today. It was literally one spot on the lowest leaf of an R2 corn plant, but it is present in fields, and something to be aware of. I urge to continue to scout fields as we enter the most critical growth stages for ear and kernel development. If the disease is not present past R4 dough stage, rarely if ever will a fungicide spray be economically viable.
Soybeans continue to look great across northern Illinois. Beans are averaging R3 first pod development, with nearly all fields beyond R1 flowering. I’ve seen very little to no disease, and the only thing that is holding back bean fields at this point was early season flooding. Overall not a lot to report on the soybean side as many fields are looking very healthy and robust.
Reagen Tibbs – Commercial Agriculture Educator
Logan County
Soil Conditions: Near Normal
While the temperatures have been sweltering and not much rain has fallen over the last week, crops do not seem to be showing any signs of stress or slowing down. Nearly all of the corn across Logan County has made it at least R1 or R2, with some of the earlier-planted corn already in the R3 stage. The bag is a little more mixed for soybeans. The fields that got planted later or had standing water for much of June are not quite to the reproductive stages yet, but are not far behind. At the Hartsburg Research Plot, a majority of the plants are in the R1 or R2 stage, with some parts of the field not far behind.
Doug Gucker – Local Food Systems and Small Farms Educator
Dewitt, Macon, and Piatt County
Soil Conditions: Near Normal
Crops are generally looking good. The exceptions are fields that suffered earlier issues of waterlogged soils or storm damage. Amaranth weed control has been a problem for non-GMO soybean producers relying on Group 14 herbicides, with insufficient early-season herbicide control of these plants. Dr. Aaron Hager’s research shows improved amaranth control in non-GMO soybeans when metribuzin is applied at appropriate rates either PPI or at planting. Soybean fields vary from the R1 to R4 growth stages.
No-till double-crop soybeans are growing very well, reaching the V3 stage.
Corn fields vary from almost VT to R3 stage. Nitrogen deficiency is apparent in fields where there were waterlogged soils. Corn leaf diseases are beginning to appear – gray leaf spot and Physoderma brown spot can be seen in a few isolated fields in the low areas where water stood earlier in the season.
Talon Becker – Commercial Agriculture Specialist
Effingham County
Soil Conditions: Near Normal
Although the soil moisture conditions are more in the normal range now, the impacts of early-season excessive rains can still be seen in Effingham County. Crop maturity across the county is extremely variable, with some soybean fields containing no apparent wheat stubble still being in early vegetative growth. It was unclear if these fields were subject to full replants or just severely delayed plantings, but they are at a similar growth stage as double-crop soybeans, between VC and V3. The more advanced soybean fields are reaching beginning to full pod (R3-R4). Corn growth stage is also variable, but not quite as much as soybeans. While most corn observed in the area had flowered and is well into seed fill, there are still plenty of fields that can be found in late vegetative or early reproductive growth stages. The most advanced corn I found was well into the kernel “dough” stage (R4). I didn’t find any major disease issues during my survey. Timely weed control was definitely an issue for some fields, leading to incomplete control and waterhemp poking through soybean canopies.
